Meet David Jonathan Winkelman - a 48-year-old Iowa man who is bitterly regretting ever listening to radio station KORB.That is what he was doing in 2000 when he heard a disc jockey offer listeners a six-figure payout if they tattooed the hard rock FM station's call letters and logo on their forehead.

Winkelman and his equally gullible stepson Richard Goddard promptly took themselves down to the local tattoo parlour in the decision that would change their lives.When they emerged, they each had the words 'Quad City Rocker' and '93 Rock' etched - permanently - into their foreheads. Then they went to the station to collect their cash - and were confronted with the horrifying truth.

The call had been a practical joke, a silly radio stunt, and the station had no intention of paying up.

Winkelman and Goddard sued, claiming that the station had sought to have listeners permanently marked so they could be 'publicly scorned and ridiculed for their greed and lack of common good sense'.But within months of filing, Winkelman dismissed the complaint. Goddard's case was later dismissed by a judge when he failed to show in court. It might have been the end of the matter - but Winkelman was arrested on Thursday night on a misdemeanour charge.

Police snapped his mug shot - and it found its way on to the internet, where it swiftly went viral.

Since Winkelman got the tattoo, KORB has changed both its call letters and its format. It is now an adult contemporary station known as KQCS, Star 93.5.